THE SEARCH for the Stars of Tomorrow has reached its climax as the PFF U15 Boys National Championship 2019 enters its Final Round which is slated on 26–28 February 2020 at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.
The teams from National Capital Region FA, Mount Apo RFA, Davao-South RFA, and Negros Occidental FA will contest for national pride beginning in the semifinals to be played on Feb. 26, for the right to play in the final on Feb. 28.
The four remaining teams confirmed their participation in the Final Round after finishing in the top two of their respective groups in the National Championship Round held in Carmona for Group 2 from 11–19 Nov. 2019 and Davao City for Group 2 from 13-18 Dec. 2019 respectively.
Group 1 winner, the team from National Capital Region FA will face Group 2 runner-up Mount Apo RFA, while Group 2 winner Davao-South RFA will face Group 1 runner-up Negros Occidental FA. The semi-final losers will face-off in the 3rd/4th place play-off while the winners of the two semi-final ties will face off in the final.
THE TEAMS:
Team from NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION FA (Group 1 winner)
The best attacking team in the tournament showed why by scoring 74 goals: 42 from their unbeaten campaign in Luzon Group B, and 32 from their Group 1 campaign.
They have gone 10 matches unbeaten, winning their first eight convincingly before drawing with Negros Occidental FA in a 3-3 draw last 17 Nov. 2019, finishing on top of the group with a superior goal differential.
Armed with international experience, the boys of coach Richard Leyble is looking to extend their streak as they lean on the dynamic duo of skipper Dominic Tom and Matthias Xavier Lozano who led the team with combined total of 28 goals, with the former scoring 7 goals in the National Championship Round.
Team from NEGROS OCCIDENTAL FA (Group 1 runner-up)
Coming from the Visayas Group of Death, Ronald Treyes’ men showed their resolve as they secured qualification by placing second each time.
Despite an absence of a go-to-guy, NOFA showed how make the team work by having 16 different goalscorers. Dominic Dreyfus, Leoven Gatungay, Kent Bacolocos and Ryan Monares all netted four goals apiece.
Apart from their goal-scoring, their defence is one of their assets, picking up all but one clean sheet out of their four fixtures in the National Championship Round.
Their six-goal thriller against the team from NCR last 17 November showed their poise in big matches when they lost their half-time lead, before Syreal Magbanua’s equalizer have them share the spoils.
Team from DAVAO-SOUTH RFA (Group 2 winner)
Davao will face its biggest test as they take on the team from Negros Occidental FA in the semifinal, with them qualifying as the top team in a tough Group 2 where it was a four-horse race for the coveted two spots on the final day.
A 2-2 draw with the team from Mount Apo RFA sealed their qualification as they ended up with seven points, eliminating the teams from Panay FA and Zamboanga Del Norte-Dipolog FA who were a point behind.
Midfielder Uriel Dalapo woke up from his slump in the Regional Group Stage to be instrumental to their run to the final round after scoring four goals in the Group 2.
Team from MOUNT APO RFA (Group 2 runner-up)
The boys from North Cotabato rounded up the quartet of the qualified teams, and it will be a challenge to recover from their slump in the National Championship Round having scored only six goals after trailblazing the Regional Group Stage with 61 goals.
However, they claimed huge results down the stretch despite losing to Panay FA, winning against Zamboanga Del Norte-Dipolog and drawing with Davao-South to book their place in the semifinal, where NCR awaits them on the horizon.
This is a perfect chance for Harold Calandria to return to the spotlight after struggling in Group 2, where his goalscoring exploits saw him top the charts in the Regional Group Stages with 22 goals.
